Moore or Less a Law

An AP story on the business page talks about Gordon Moore one of the founder's of Intel. Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of Moore's Law--the predicted rate at which semiconductor capability would advance. The rate has variously been stated as doubling every year, every 18 months or every couple of years.

A few years back I had a photo assignment to photograph Moore. As it happened, on the way to the shoot a radio story about Moore and his law settled on the 'every 18 months' version. In fact, for several years doubling every 18 months was the only version many people heard. Now he says it's dead.

During the photography the topic came up about his law and the story on the radio. What surprised me was how readily Moore acknowledged giving out various accounts of his 'law'. As much as saying; "It was never strictly a law--just a casual observation that I've played with over the years. The press has their own version and they won't give it up--and I've quit trying to explain".

(The photo was taken during that assignment. For the record--this is an in-camera double exposure--no PhotoShop.)